Olympic Gymnastics Schedule 2012: Top Contenders in Men's Team Final on Day 3

One of the Olympics' marquee events will take place on Tuesday as the world's best gymnasts take center stage in the men's team all-around competition. It should be a terrific battle for gold between several strong contenders.

Let's take a look at the three teams with the best chance of standing atop the podium at day's end. It's the first major event on the gymnastics schedule after a couple days of qualifying, which means the pressure level is about to pick up in a gigantic way.

China

As always, China features an extremely deep squad that is expected to win gold. Anything less would be a disappointment in the country that has begun challenging the United States for Summer Olympic superiority in recent years.

The team features a nice mix of veterans and fresh faces. Chen Yibing and Zou Kai return from the 2008 team which destroyed the competition in Beijing. That Chinese squad won team gold by more than seven points, and the returning duo will be expected to lead the way again.

They will be joined by Feng Zhe (who has had some strong showings at the last two World Championships), Guo Weiyang and Zhang Chenglong. It's a tight race at the top, but China should be considered the slight favorite.

United States

The United States took home bronze four years ago, but they have a squad that's capable of accomplishing a lot more this time around. It's the most complete team the country has sent to the Games in quite some time and hopes are not surprisingly high.

Danell Leyva and John Orozco give the Americans two elite athletes capable of putting up high scores in any apparatus. That's a huge advantage because it will allow the other team members to stick with their strongest areas.

There will also be a lot of pressure on Jonathan Horton. He's the lone returning gymnast from the team from four years ago and will need to assume the important leadership role. He needs to make sure his squad lives up to the hype in pursuit of gold.

Russia

While China and the United States are expected to have their sights set on each other as the two top teams, Russia has serious sleeper potential and shouldn't be counted out. The Russians have what it takes to pull off a stunner.

They had a strong showing in the qualifying stages, which definitely turned some heads after a lackluster finish four years ago. Momentum can have a tremendous impact at the Olympics because of the extreme pressure.

Aleksandr Balandin and David Belyavskiy will be the biggest keys to success. When they are at their best, they allow Russia to hang with any country in the world. Emin Garibov has also been impressive to this point, helping make the Russians a legitimate contender.